


A Simple Gift

by MariahJade2



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 19:56:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16144397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariahJade2/pseuds/MariahJade2
Summary: Just after the Last Command by Timothy Zahn.   After accepting Luke's old light saber, Mara ponders the changes in her life and her feelings for a certain Jedi, meanwhile Luke has a few ideas of his own.





	A Simple Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this many years ago and it's probably the one and only time I included a song. You might want to listen on you tube to get the gist of the mood. Love and Affection by Joan Armatrading.

_“I’ll come with you.”_ She had spoken ordinary words, yet Mara could still feel the weight of unborn futures held within them. All around her, words buzzed through the air of soft music playing at the small reception Leia had hastily thrown together. After returning to the conference room with Luke after their talk up on the roof deck, and announcing her decision to accept the job as liaison, she found herself a few days and several meetings later a bit unsure and dazed at the speed of the changes in her life. Mara had gone along with the negotiating parties at the end of the week and agreed to this little impromptu gathering. She’d done her well practiced rounds to network with the people there, and with that mostly accomplished, she retreated to a corner, picked absently at the appetizer on her plate and watched the other occupants of the room talking in little groups. Unfortunately, Mara’s mind could not hold on to any of the conversations. Her thoughts were a cloud in the wind.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ She wondered nervously to herself, and found her eyes drifting to the face of Luke Skywalker. His sense in the force positively shined with hope, and it was with a start that she realized it was she who was responsible for that feeling. Never in all of her life had she been asked to be an instrument of reconciliation and not one of destruction or falsehoods. He looked up from talking to Karrde and locked eyes with her. The smile evident in those blue orbs reached his face when he saw her, and she watched as he excused himself to Karrde and started to walk towards her.

It was a short walk, yet to Mara it seemed to go on forever. Each step he took closer made her unaccountably more apprehensive. Why she should suddenly feel this way was not clear to her at all. With the exception of the Emperor, she had never felt the need to live up to someone else’s expectations, not even Karrde really. Luke had put his faith in her, in his stupidly naïve fashion, and now it was left up to Mara to carry this plan off. She had no doubts about her skills, well maybe some, but it was her methods that she was sure he would monitor. This man was nothing but trouble.

“Hello Mara. Are you enjoying the food?”

“Skywalker. I told you before, never try to be devious. You just can’t do it. Just say what you came over to say, and cut out the small talk.”

“I thought you were trained to deal with these kinds of gatherings. Isn’t small talk a requirement?” She watched him attempt a grin at her, and she shook her head in exasperation.

“I don’t do small talk with outer rim farmboys.” She had meant for the comment to be lighter in tone but it had sounded much harsher than she intended. It was only after the words had left her mouth that she realized the effect they might have on him, and the sudden spike of hurt that went through him before he cut it off sent a wave of guilt though her. _Guilt? Because of him?_ She thought the Emperor had brutally excised that particular emotion away from her long ago. Yet somehow, lost pieces of Mara Jade would find their way back into her brain in the presence of Luke Skywalker. He would appear and gather up the little bits of her soul that were stolen from her and return them like he was restoring a precious piece of art. _Why Luke?_ She wondered, knowing she didn’t deserve it.

He presented a controlled face to her, “Never mind then. Try the seafood…it’s quite good,” and he turned stiffly as if to leave.

Mara’s hand suddenly reached out of its own accord and grabbed on to his arm, stopping him. “Skywalker. Stop. Don’t go. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” He looked down to where her hand was touching him and then up into her face.

Touching him had been instinct, but it had also brought their faces closer together, making her feel suddenly very disconcerted. She let go of his arm and retreated a bit. He stared at her, surprise etched all over his face.

“What did you mean Mara?”

Zing. Straight to the point with no subterfuge in between, that was more like the Luke she had come to know. “I meant that after all we’ve just gone through together; you don’t need to waste time on social conventions. I want you to just say what you need to with me.”

He raised a skeptical brow, and Mara laughed, saying, “Maybe I like that farmboy honesty after all. So tell me. What did you come over here for?”

If she didn’t know better she would have sworn that his face had just flushed in embarrassment. _What was that about?_ He touched her hand and looked her in the eye and Mara found that she could not look away.

“I couldn’t help but notice you feeling a little uneasy about your decision. I just wanted you to know, that you can back out of this anytime you want. But I don’t think you need to worry. Mara, you are the perfect person for this job and I know that this is something that you can do. I….we need you.”

Her hand went down between the folds of her tunic and fingered the lightsaber he had given her. _Why had he done it? Why had she accepted everything that he offered her? This new job, and this gift._  
It hadn’t escaped her notice that he had almost said that _he_ needed her. Was he expecting her to become like him? To let him train her? He probably was. She had taken his gift, despite everything that it symbolized.

“Didn’t your mother tell you it isn’t nice to eavesdrop?” she said with some annoyance.

Again, she felt a brief flash of pain wash though him, but it was clamped down on so quickly that it was almost as if it had never been. Not once did it occur to her to question the ease of her connection to his feelings, because her guilt was back as strong as before. _Damn. She’d blundered into one of his sore spots again._

“I’m sorry Jade. You’re right. My guardian’s taught me better. It’s just that your shields weren’t up and I couldn’t help sensing your anxiety.” She saw that his face was carefully crafted to look contrite and unaffected by her words.

“Never mind. I’ll forgive you this time. I suppose it was my fault anyway. I’m just a little unsettled right now. This is a big change for me, and a big responsibility. It may be more complicated to carry off than you seem to think.”

He stared at her and said, “You will do fine. I know it.” His hand brushed hers and she felt a strange warmth shoot up her arm and her spine at his slightest touch. He moved his hand to the lightsaber and raised it up a little from her belt. “You may want to let me help you improve on your Force skills. It could come in handy when you start trying to pull these different groups together.”

She knew it. He was so naïve, so predictable. And he didn’t even try to disguise the hopeful expression on his face. Somehow she couldn’t help but smile inwardly at this. Try as she might to hold a stern face, she just couldn’t. He was just so darned cute when he was being his typical straightforward earnest self. Oh yes, she had thought him attractive. In fact, finding him attractive was part of what annoyed her and usually led to some biting sarcasm in reflexive response and denial. She didn’t let herself admit if often, but it had always been there, even when she was under the spell of the Emperor’s command. It was something that made her very uncomfortable. She recalled studying his face as he lay drugged and unconscious on the Wild Karrde and on Myrkrr. The man that had lain there, helpless and vulnerable to her power, was hard to reconcile with the arrogant and vengeful Jedi she had come to believe him to be. The image of him, burned into her mind from all those nightmares, lay there before her, but it was out of focus, a doppelganger, not right somehow. The man and the image looked identical, yet when she tried to overlay the two, it felt wrong, it didn’t fit in a way that was impossible to define. His features were hardly the features of chiseled perfection, yet it was a compelling, attractive face. It’s very subtle imperfections making it more enthralling, unsophisticated, yet full of underlying power.

The sound of a throat clearing brought her back to the present, and she started, realizing that he was standing there waiting for a response with a quizzical look on those big blue eyes that waited so patiently for her reply.

He did have a point, she had to admit. The extra practice and instruction during their trip on Wayland had helped her a bit more than she expected. Perhaps if she gave in to a few small sessions it would begin to make up for a few things and it might mollify his over eager expectations.

“Okay, Skywalker, but just the basics for now and on my schedule not yours. As it just so happens I’ll be here for a while apparently,” she said tossing some hair out of her eyes and nodding in concession.”

 

The sudden wave of joy that washed over her from him was echoed in the biggest smile she’d ever seen on his face. It startled her the power she seemed to have to make him feel such a thing. She’d never brought happiness to anyone before and for such a small little gesture. Her power to hurt she knew all too bitterly, but this, this was something new and a bit unsettling. It stirred in her thoughts she didn’t want to allow, was afraid to look at. Thoughts about why he was ready to give up his life for her in front of the Mad Jedi. He would have sacrificed himself for her she knew, and she could not reconcile why he would feel her life mattered. She had never mattered to anyone. She had only been a tool.

 

“Mara that’s wonderful,” he said and his two hands grasped her shoulders pulling her in a quick hug and releasing her before she had the time to respond. “I promise you won’t regret this.” He was positively beaming.

 

“Don’t get too excited,” she replied. “I’m not the easiest person to teach.”

“I’m fully aware Jade,” he said with just a note of snark.

 

“Come on let’s get some drinks, I want to seal this with a toast, so I can hold you to it.” He grabbed her hand laughing and pulled her towards the refreshment and food tables at the gathering. “Besides I’m still starving.”

The display was a smorgasbord of dishes from all over. Appetizers, smoked, spiced and pickled choices, salads, cheeses and many hot and cold items making it hard to decide what to have for both of them. Obviously Skywalker was hungry, because he loaded up on a sampling of entrees and appetizers, waiting as she chose hers with a bit more care to her personal taste. Mara let herself be amused at his full plate.

“Have enough to eat their Farmboy?” This time she said it with a smile and a lighter teasing tone and he didn’t react as before, just chuckled.

_Shavit! How does he do this to me? I just agreed to not only let him train me; I’m standing here laughing with Skywalker._

They reached the alcohol and Mara was soooo ready for a drink right now.

“What would you like?” His voice was deep and soft next to her ear as he leaned in closer so she could hear him over the noise of the crowd. Something made her ask for some Namana nectar, perhaps feeling the need to be fortified. She knew enough not to drink it fast at least. Mara was surprised though when Luke chose one too. The man was constantly putting her off balance, figuring he would have chosen something more pedestrian and less alcoholic, certainly not the sweet orange colored drink that tasted like the nectar of a jungle flower, spicy and sweet yet burned like fire at the same time.

So it was another surprise to her when Luke clicked his glass to hers saying, “To new beginnings,” tipped the glass to his lips and swallowed the shot straight down, as if he was trying to give himself some courage. It shocked her even more when he poured himself another and raised an eyebrow at her close scrutiny of his actions, almost in a dare.

Mara took it as a challenge because of course it was, what else would it be? She downed her own drink and gestured for another as well, eyeing him again, pleased to at least see the flush of heat rise on his face from the nectar.

Luckily he was still hungry, so they meandered over to an empty table and sat down to eat what they had collected on their plates. This time at least,  they both sipped slowly at their drinks as they ate. Mara was saved from discussing more about her training by people stopping by to chat them both up from time to time, but as time went on whether from the drinks or the strangely pleasant company, Mara felt a lot of her tension disappearing.

The music was starting up as the band began playing some light tunes while varying groups clustered here and there in conversation. Luke’s sister was off in a corner having an animated discussion with her husband and Karrde. Her perusal of the crowd was disrupted when she felt a slight ripple, of what was it, _attraction_ in the force and Mara turned her face to see Skywalker looking at her intently, at her hair in fact, and then following the length of it to the curve or her neckline down to her breasts where his eyes fixed briefly. Too late she realized at some point she had apparently unzipped her top lower because she was getting darned hot for some reason, probably the Namana nectar affecting her. His projection had been brief before he slammed his shields shut, but long enough for her to feel it as a warm almost caress in the force. _So he is a man after all._ Perhaps it was the alcohol but she rather enjoyed the thought that he had wants like a normal person. Why he would desire her when he had been nothing but a target of her rage and anger was another matter to sort out in their newly forged complicated relationship. Though if she was honest with herself, it’s not like she hadn’t noticed him notice her before. He was subtle to be sure, but there had been tiny moments, here and there during the times they had worked together, and when he thought she wasn’t looking that she’d caught him with a quick admiring look in her direction, or a hint of a need on his face.

 

He looked away with just a touch of a flush to his face and downed the rest of his drink.

“Let’s dance,” he said suddenly, grabbing her hand and pulling her up out of the seat. The surprise of it all prevented her from stopping his pull at first, but she managed to get control and tugged him to a stop.

“Don’t you think you should let me reply before you drag me off like some Nerf herder?”

Luke deadpanned her and said “Nope, not unless you want to be cornered into a mind numbingly boring conversation with those two politicians headed this way. Because I’m pretty sure they want to pick our brains, and bend our ears until our eyes glaze over.”

She saw who he was referring to and said, “Point taken Skywalker. I suppose you have your occasional uses.” He never let go of her hand her mind noticed, as they walked out onto the dance floor just as a new song started. He spun her into his arms and they danced to the light rhythm.

“Thanks Jade.”

“It was a nice save but don’t get cocky.” Mara replied a tad breathless from the dance move she was currently making.

They continued that way for a while until Karrde took Leia out on to the floor causing Han to walk over and cut in. Luke’s face looked disappointed but he relented, pausing to say to her as he left, “I’ll be back.”

She watched him meander over to the droid waiter and pick up a whiskey of some sort before she turned her head to see Solo looking at her with an odd smirk on his face as he started moving her around to the music. He must have noticed her monitoring Luke’s location.

_Hells!_

“So Solo what’s on your mind? Trying to keep your scoundrel persona alive by dancing with a former Imperial assassin?”

“Nope, I married a former Imperial traitor so it’s on the permanent record.”

She did laugh at that.

“Look Mara, Luke trusts you so that means we trust you. That doesn’t mean we won’t look out for him, but that’s not the reason I asked to dance with you. Leia and I, well we never did get the chance to properly thank you and I just wanted you to know that we do appreciate everything you’ve done for us, for the government,  for the twins, and you know, not killing Luke, things like that.” He gave her the Solo face and a wink.

 

“He wants to train me so it could still happen,” she said flippantly, but Han just laughed in her face.

“Yeah sure Mara whatever you say, be good to him okay, and remember one smuggler to another, you can always come to me if you need anything.”

Mara tried for a response but only managed to make sputtering noises as he bowed and left her alone. A waiter walked by her and she grabbed a glass of wine taking two swallows to drain the glass and putting it back on the tray before the droid could leave.

Luke was making a bee line back to her and she had the sudden urge to flee the other direction but she squashed that. Only cowards flee and never Mara Jade. A breeze from the balcony blew some errant hairs into her eyes and she brushed them back as he arrived.

“What did Han want?” he said as he moved to stand in front of her.

“To dance,” she managed to reply as his blue eyes locked on her.

“Mara…”

“Don’t worry; he just wanted to thank me. Honestly Skywalker I’ve never been thanked by so many people that would have shot me just a short while ago it’s a bit unnerving. Up seems down and down seems up sometimes.”

An odd emotion crossed his face and his sense in the force. Recognition, pain, empathy, bonding seemed all mixed in together.

“I know what you mean,” and he took her hands and pulled her to dance with him again. This time she gave no resistance.

“Would you be bothered if I added another thank you to the list?”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “What ever for?”

“Just for being you, your honest, no mincing words self. When I’m around you it’s like I can finally relax somehow and be me. Just Luke. I don’t have to explain myself to you. I don’t have to explain anything. You know. You know what the force is, what…what I am. You aren’t afraid of me, my power, or worse you don’t have any sort of hero worship, no expectations or demands. I can’t tell you what that means to me. It’s just nice not to feel alone. Oh and you’re beautiful too.”

 

She could feel her face blushing and she couldn’t stop it. He brushed his thumb across her right hand and gave her a hopeful look and she felt her heart skip a few beats at his obviously alcohol induced confession. It had to be the drinks right?

“Thank you. Flattery may or may not get you somewhere. Have you been studying new skills from your sister?” _Did she really just say that?_

“Maybe I got them from watching you tonight.”

She studied the amusement that crossed his face.

“Luke. I’m still not used to your trust and acceptance but I will admit it is nice for me too even if I don’t understand why you do. I’ve only ever had that from Karrde.” She gave him a smile as he twirled her around for the end of the song.

His face brightened. “Are you getting tired? Do you want to sit?”

She looked around. “No. Let’s stay here I don’t feel like talking to anyone else right now. “

The next song was a slow dance and he attentively placed just the right amount of pressure with his hand on her back and through her other fingers. Not too threatening, careful of her feelings yet intimate in its own way because of that. Her other hand rested lightly through his fingers first, then on his shoulder occasionally feeling the brush of his hair as his head moved to the dance.

She was conscious of the force starting to flow between them not with words or emotion but just from their movements in harmony with the music, like adding notes and harmonics to the air around them.

He started humming along to the song and Mara could feel the vibrations in his chest as the sounds he was making were perfectly in pitch with the bands singer.

_Skywalker could sing?_

Her surprised thoughts must have radiated out to him because he laughed and placed two fingers on her lips before she could say anything.

“Shhhhhh. That’s between you and me. You can’t tell anyone, especially the rogues. I have to keep my reputation intact as the worst singer ever in the squadron.”

“I thought Jedi’s weren’t supposed to lie and why would you lie about something like that?”

He sighed. “Think of it as leveling the playing field, a team bonding thing. They know I’m a Jedi so it was a way to make me less intimidating if I’m not good at something. Kind of like what I was saying earlier about others perceptions and expectations. Besides,  I normally only sang in front of them drunk on my ass so maybe I was bad then. Our secret okay?”

 

Mara snickered at the image. “When did you learn?”

“I don’t know, I suppose I just picked it up along the way working at the farm. You’ve been to Tattooine. There’s not a lot there to occupy oneself except work, so I usually brought a portable subspace radio with me to listen to while I did my chores. There were a few stations I enjoyed and I often sang along with it to help make the work go faster. I read a lot too, because one thing was for sure, you were either working till you were dead tired or you were waiting around or travelling sometimes for hours to get what you needed.”

“You are just full of surprises tonight Luke.”

Another wave of emotion hit her from him and he pulled her closer into the dance. His voice sounded tight as he said, “That’s the second time you called me Luke. I like it.”

Her hands moved across his back of their own accord and she cautiously laid her head on his shoulder as they swayed to the music. “Don’t get too used to it.” she said softly without a lot of conviction.

The band started a soulful song and Luke started singing along so only she could hear. His voice sounded deep, soft and inviting. It was beautiful.

 

I am not in love  
But I'm open to persuasion  
East or West  
Where's the best  
For romancing  
With a friend  
I can smile  
But with a lover  
I could hold my head back  
I could really laugh  
Really laugh  
Thank you  
You took me dancing  
'Cross the floor  
Cheek to cheek  
But with a lover  
I could really move  
Really move  
I could really dance

He moved them slowly away from the center of the room to the side closest to the balcony.

Really dance, Really dance, Really dance

I could really move. Really move, Really move, Really move

Now if I can feel the sun  
In my eyes  
And the rain on my face  
Why can't I  
Feel love  
I can really love

He moved them closer to the balcony. His voice like a slow drum beat in the refrains.

Really love, Really love, Really love, Really love

Love, love, love, love  
Love, love, love, love

His voice got softer and deeper, as she let herself just float along with the song. Her mind felt lightheaded from the drinks and from the feel of his arms around her softly caressing her back. She could have pulled away from it all, but somehow she just didn’t want to stop feeling the soft brush of air near her ear as he sang to her.

Now I got all  
The friends that I want  
I may need more  
But I shall just stick to those  
That I have got  
With friends I still feel  
So insecure  
Little darling I believe you could  
Help me a lot  
Just take my hand  
And lead me where you will  
No conversation  
No wave goodnight  
Just make love  
With affection  
Sing me another love song  
But this time  
With a little dedication  
Sing it, sing it  
You know that's what I like  
Once more with feeling  
Give me love  
Give me love  
Give me love  
Love

Her mind was awash in confused emotions as waves of attraction drifted back and forth between them. Desire filled her gut as he finished the song on the balcony and moved his face closer and closer as if to kiss her.

“Luke, Mara! There you are.”

They both jumped back at the sound of Leia’s voice. His sister strode towards them and Mara could feel the burst of annoyance and thwarted passion flowing off of Luke. Her own thoughts were a mess as her heart raced trying to make sense of what almost happened.

_He was going to kiss her and oh my stars she would have let him. How did this happen?_

She was spared any further thoughts as Leia started talking and they both turned to face her.

“Han and Karrde were discussing one of the possible groups that might fit into the Smugglers Alliance and I wanted to ask…”

Suddenly Leia stopped talking and was just staring at her and Luke then back to her, no, correction, Leia’s eyes were fixed lower.

The decorative torch lighting was glinting prisms of light off of her lightsaber, correction Luke’s old saber. The one he had just gifted to her and was hanging from her belt. She could feel waves of confusion, recognition, pain, a tiny burst of anger that was quickly snuffed, and a sadness that was overwhelming Mara.

Leia turned to her brother and with a hitch in her voice said, “You gave it to her?”

“Yes, I did. Leia, we’ll talk about it, but later. Not now. Please.”

“I don’t, it’s just, never mind:”

Suddenly as if realizing Mara was still there, Leia apologized to her and walked away.

“Mara,” Luke turned her back towards him, a wash of desperation on his face as he must have felt her reaction as she pulled away. She unhooked the lightsaber from her belt staring at it.

Her mind raced, and she felt the sudden sting of tears threatening to fill her eyes. She was angry with herself, she felt, unworthy and guilty again, and then there was Luke and his force presence filling her head and heart with things she didn’t know what to do with.

Before he could say another word she knew what she had to do. She grabbed his hand and placed the lightsaber in it.

“I, I can’t Luke,” and she fled from him, feeling his hurt and panic in her wake.

 

Mara made her way to the roof terrace. The view there was amazing but she took no notice of anything for a while, lost in her own thoughts.

_What were you thinking Mara? What was he thinking? It’s a family heirloom shavit, and you certainly have no right to it. It was all they had of Anakin before he turned. She probably wants to hand it down to her kids and who are you to deny her that. He couldn’t have been thinking clearly when he gave it to you. Their gratitude to her could only extend so far, but surely stopped at the door when it came to Luke._

_Luke. What was she letting herself feel for him? He made no secret tonight that he might want more than friendship from her. The thought frightened her that she so easily indulged in the beautiful web he weaved, that she longed for some of the things he was offering, to fill in all those empty spaces in her life that the Emperor had taken from her. To let him fix all her broken parts. But wasn’t he just as broken in his own way? She’d lived so long with the thought of ending his life in her head and the image of his face as her constant companion, that it was something of a shock tonight to realize that even with the command gone, she still had him in her head, that a part of her wanted his face to still be there, didn’t want to lose it, so that she wouldn’t be so alone._

A cool breeze blew across the roof and she wrapped her arms around herself. She heard the click of a door and knew without looking that Luke had followed her up here.

She could feel him moving across the space between them till he placed himself next to her against the rail. He seemed unusually calm as she looked at him. He returned the gesture and held out the lightsaber to her.

“You forgot this.”

She shook her head.

“I think your sister feels otherwise.”

“I talked to her, she understands but I don’t think you do.”

 

“I felt her when she saw it. I think I have a pretty good idea of what she was feeling.”

He placed the saber into her hand and covered it with his so she couldn’t let go.

“Yes, we both did, but you don’t know the reason for those feelings. She wasn’t angry with you or me. She wasn’t sad for herself; she was upset for me, thinking it would be painful for me to see it all the time, after the clone. She was thinking about Bespin, and how I lost it, and how she had to take care of me afterward, and how angry she was with Vader for doing that to me. She was thinking that it might be painful for you too, that it might be a constant reminder to you of Vader, of both of them and what they did to you.”

“I told her that you were going to need it. That it meant something different to me, that I wanted you to have it, that I care about you, that it should be part of the future not the past.”

“Please Mara keep it.” He closed the space between them a little, watching hopefully as she processed everything he just said.

“You’re sure she was okay with this? You really mean this? ”

“Yes she was, and yes I do.”

She looked down at his hand pressed into hers over the lightsaber and felt the truth in his words, his essence shining as brightly as his blue eyes were doing now and she truly understood so many things at once. Those incongruent images the Emperor had created of him that were left over in her mind, she could banish them all now, banish her doubts because, Luke was not arrogant, he was self deprecating, he did not rage, he was calm, he didn’t seek revenge he sought justice and fairness, he was not selfish he was generous, he was not cold, he was passionate, and full of emotion yet always able to find peace, He might appear naïve yet it was part of his charm and he was a quick study, intelligent and adaptable to changing situations when needed, he had such insight and trust in the force, he trusted her when no one else would have. He always trusted her and for the first time in her life she mattered to somebody. Her life mattered. There was so much more to him than she ever imagined.

He had pain like her, he was alone with this like her, he had demons and regrets like her, both orphans of circumstance, each coming to this place from opposite ends yet arriving at the same point. He could teach her so many things and she likewise could teach him all those things he never had the chance to learn. But the one thing, the most important thing, was the unspoken friendship, the tenderness, the affection, the passion he was holding out to her just under the surface, and that she could feel calling to her through the force from those bright blue eyes that glittered like tropical waters.

 

She took the saber and held it, turning it in her hands. This was not a simple gift, not just a tool, or a metaphor for letting go of the past. It was more. So much more. It was a promise of the future, a promise to her. She looked at his face, his eyes swimming so brightly in the lights of the city, and smiled, letting him feel her acknowledge what she knew they both wanted.

“Mara?”

“Yes, I will.”

As music floated up to them from a balcony below,  his lips covered hers and for once in her life she let all her anxiety and shields melt away into the night, into that kiss, and as he did the same, the force, gathered, danced and drew them into a bond beginning a blending of their souls, pulling them closer in an embrace both would remember forever.


End file.
